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The 2023 A Lyga, for sponsorship reasons also called Optibet A lyga was the 34th season of the A Lyga, the top-tier football league of Lithuania. The season began on 3 March 2023 and concluded on 12 November 2023.[1]
| Season | 2023 |
|---|---|
| Dates | 3 March – 12 November 2023 |
| Champions | Panevėžys |
| Relegated | Riteriai |
| Champions League | Panevėžys |
| Conference League | Žalgiris Šiauliai |
| Matches played | 171 |
| Goals scored | 403 (2.36 per match) |
← 2022 2024 → | |
The winners (Panevėžys) qualified for the 2024–25 Champions League first qualifying round. The runners-up (Žalgiris) and third-placed team (Šiauliai) qualified for the 2024–25 Conference League first qualifying round. The ninth-placed team (Džiugas) qualified for the A Lyga play-off, winning to retain their place in the league. The bottom-placed team (Riteriai) were relegated to the 2024 LFF I Lyga.
The league consisted of ten teams, nine of which remained from the previous season. Žalgiris entered the season as defending champions. Jonava were relegated and replaced by Dainava, returning after one year's absence.[2][3] Ninth-placed Džiugas remained in A Lyga after winning the playoff against I Lyga's Neptūnas.[4]
Home towns of the 2023 A Lyga teams
| Club | Location | Stadium | Surface | Capacity | Seasons in A Lyga |
Position in 2022 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banga | Gargždai | Gargždai Stadium | Artificial | 2,323 | 10 | 8th |
| DFK Dainava | Alytus | Alytus Stadium | Natural | 3,726 | 12 | 1st in I lyga |
| Marijampolė | Marijampolė Football Indoor Arena | Artificial | 2,660 | |||
| Džiugas | Telšiai | Telšiai Central Stadium | Natural | 2,320 | 3 | 9th |
| Ateitis Progymnasium Stadium | Artificial | 300 | ||||
| Hegelmann | Kaunas | LFF Kaunas Training Center Stadium | Artificial | 500 | 3 | 4th |
| Kauno Žalgiris | Kaunas | Darius and Girėnas Stadium | Hybrid | 15,315 | 9 | 2nd |
| Akademija | VDU Stadium | Artificial | 1,000 | |||
| Panevėžys | Panevėžys | Aukštaitija Stadium | Natural | 6,600 | 5 | 3rd |
| Žemyna Progymnasium Stadium | Artificial | 620 | ||||
| Riteriai | Vilnius | LFF Stadium | Artificial | 5,067 | 10 | 5th |
| Sportima Arena | Artificial | 3,157 | ||||
| Sūduva | Marijampolė | Marijampolė Football Arena | Natural | 6,250 | 21 | 6th |
| Marijampolė Football Indoor Arena | Artificial | 2,660 | ||||
| FA Šiauliai | Šiauliai | Savivaldybė Stadium | Natural | 4,000 | 2 | 7th |
| Gytariai Stadium | Artificial | 500 | ||||
| Žalgiris | Vilnius | LFF Stadium | Artificial | 5,067 | 22 | 1st |
| Sportima Arena | Artificial | 3,157 |
Managers
Current Managers
| Team | Coach | Appointed | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|
| FK Banga |  David Afonso |
41 months ago | UEFA Pro |
| DFK Dainava |  Syarhey Kuznyatsow |
29 months ago | UEFA A |
| FC Džiugas | João Prates |
40 months ago | UEFA Pro |
| FC Hegelmann |  Andrius Skerla |
46 months ago | UEFA Pro |
| FK Kauno Žalgiris | Nerijus Mačiulis (caretaker) |
12 months ago | |
| FK Panevėžys |  Gino Lettieri |
25 months ago | UEFA Pro |
| FK Riteriai | Matthew Silva |
15 months ago | UEFA Pro |
| FK Sūduva | Dovydas Lastauskas |
21 months ago | |
| FA Šiauliai | Mindaugas Čepas |
47 months ago | UEFA Pro |
| FK Žalgiris |  Vladimir Cheburin |
45 months ago | UEFA Pro |
Managerial changes
| Team | Outgoing manager | Manner of departure | Date of vacancy | Incoming manager | Date of appointment |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FK Sūduva | Matthew Silva |
End of caretaker spell | 30 November 2022 | Dovydas Lastauskas |
1 February 2023 |
| FK Riteriai |  Pablo Villar |
Sacked | 24 March 2023 |  Vladimir Janković |
1 April 2023 |
| FK Kauno Žalgiris | Rokas Garastas |
1 May 2023 | Marius Stankevičius |
1 May 2023 | |
| FK Riteriai | Vladimir Janković |
22 July 2023 | Matthew Silva |
26 July 2023 | |
| FK Kauno Žalgiris | Marius Stankevičius |
5 October 2023 | Nerijus Mačiulis (caretaker) |
5 October 2023 |
League table
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts | Qualification or relegation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Panevėžys (C) | 36 | 26 | 9 | 1 | 64 | 14 | +50 | 87 | Qualification for the Champions League first qualifying round |
| 2 | Žalgiris | 36 | 23 | 6 | 7 | 67 | 28 | +39 | 75 | Qualification for the Conference League first qualifying round |
| 3 | Šiauliai | 36 | 16 | 14 | 6 | 51 | 35 | +16 | 62 | |
| 4 | Kauno Žalgiris | 36 | 15 | 14 | 7 | 61 | 40 | +21 | 59 | |
| 5 | Hegelmann | 36 | 18 | 5 | 13 | 62 | 43 | +19 | 59 | |
| 6 | Banga | 36 | 10 | 6 | 20 | 22 | 52 | −30 | 36 | |
| 7 | Sūduva | 36 | 10 | 5 | 21 | 28 | 60 | −32 | 35 | |
| 8 | Dainava | 36 | 7 | 10 | 19 | 25 | 40 | −15 | 31 | |
| 9 | Džiugas (O) | 36 | 4 | 13 | 19 | 25 | 57 | −32 | 25 | Qualification for the A Lyga play-off |
| 10 | Riteriai (R) | 36 | 5 | 10 | 21 | 26 | 62 | −36 | 25 | Relegation to I Lyga |
Source: A Lyga
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Play-off (for champion only) 3) Head-to-head points; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Head-to-head goals scored; 6) Head-to-head matches won; 7) Goal difference; 8) Goals scored; 9) Matches won; 10) Fairplay ranking; 11) Draw.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Rules for classification: 1) Points; 2) Play-off (for champion only) 3) Head-to-head points; 4) Head-to-head goal difference; 5) Head-to-head goals scored; 6) Head-to-head matches won; 7) Goal difference; 8) Goals scored; 9) Matches won; 10) Fairplay ranking; 11) Draw.
(C) Champions; (O) Play-off winners; (R) Relegated
Fixtures and results
| Home \ Away | BAN | DAI | DZI | HEG | KAU | PAN | RIT | SIA | SUD | ZAL | BAN | DAI | DZI | HEG | KAU | PAN | RIT | SIA | SUD | ZAL |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Banga | 2–1 | 2–0 | 0–5 | 0–2 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 1–0 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–0 | 1–4 | ||
| Dainava | 2–1 | 2–2 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 5–0 | 0–0 | 2–1 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 1–1 | 1–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 0–2 | ||
| Džiugas | 1–2 | 0–1 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–2 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 2–1 | 1–2 | 0–2 | 0–3 | 2–2 | 3–3 | 1–1 | 1–2 | ||
| Hegelmann | 5–0 | 3–0 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 2–4 | 0–1 | 2–3 | 6–0 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | ||
| Kauno Žalgiris | 0–0 | 1–0 | 3–1 | 4–0 | 0–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 3–0 | 1–1 | 3–1 | 1–1 | 0–0 | 4–2 | 1–1 | 3–2 | 3–2 | 1–1 | 2–5 | ||
| Panevėžys | 2–0 | 0–0 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 3–1 | 3–1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 2–2 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2–0 | ||
| Riteriai | 0–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 1–1 | 0–4 | 0–1 | 1–0 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–3 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–3 | 0–2 | 0–1 | 1–2 | 2–6 | ||
| Šiauliai | 1–1 | 2–0 | 2–0 | 3–1 | 1–0 | 0–0 | 1–1 | 3–0 | 1–0 | 3–0 | 0–0 | 3–0[lower-alpha 1] | 1–3 | 1–1 | 1–1 | 2–0 | 3–2 | 0–0 | ||
| Sūduva | 0–2 | 2–0 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 2–4 | 0–2 | 0–0 | 0–2 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–0 | 0–0 | 0–1 | 2–6 | 0–1 | 0–3 | 2–0 | 0–2 | ||
| Žalgiris | 1–0 | 0–0 | 2–3 | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 1–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 | 1–0 | 1–0 | 4–1 | 4–0 | 0–2 | 1–2 | 3–0 | 2–2 | 4–0 |
A Lyga play-off
The ninth-placed club (Džiugas) faced the second-placed club from the 2023 LFF I Lyga (Be1 NFA) for the final place in the following season's A Lyga.
First leg
Second leg
Top scorers
- As of match played 12 November 2023
Hat-tricks
| Player | For | Against | Result | Date | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Cesinha | Hegelmann | Banga Gargždai | 5–0 (H) | 31 March 2023 | [6] |
 Filip Dangubić | Hegelmann | Sūduva | 6–0 (H) | 28 April 2023 | [7] |
 Mathias Oyewusi | Žalgiris | Kauno Žalgiris | 2–5 (A) | 27 June 2023 | [8] |
| Gratas Sirgėdas | Kauno Žalgiris | Banga Gargždai | 3–1 (H) | 7 October 2023 | [9] |
Discipline
Red cards
- As of match played 12 November 2023
Nikola Popović - Riteriai vs FA Šiauliai (3 March 2023)
Pijus Srėbalius - Žalgiris vs Banga Gargždai (11 March 2023)- Augustas Dubickas - Žalgiris vs Sūduva (1 April 2023)
Brahim Konaté - Dainava vs Kauno Žalgiris (2 April 2023)- Vilius Armalas - Hegelmann vs Panevėžys (4 April 2023)
Srđan Spiridonović - Kauno Žalgiris vs Džiugas Telšiai (5 April 2023)
Braima Candé - Kauno Žalgiris vs Džiugas Telšiai (5 April 2023)- Srđan Spiridonović - Kauno Žalgiris vs Banga Gargždai (28 May 2023)
- Karolis Žebrauskas - Kauno Žalgiris vs Banga Gargždai (28 May 2023)
- Sigitas Urbys - Banga Gargždai vs Sūduva (6 June 2023)
- Tomas Rapalavičius - Džiugas Telšiai vs FA Šiauliai (7 June 2023)
Joël Bopesu - Hegelmann vs Žalgiris (7 June 2023)- Gabrielius Micevičius - FA Šiauliai vs Banga Gargždai (10 June 2023)
- Tomas Švedkauskas - Hegelmann vs Dainava (24 June 2023)
- Pijus Širvys - Panevėžys vs Riteriai (30 June 2023)
Abdullahi Ode - Džiugas Telšiai vs Dainava (1 July 2023)- Chibuike Nwosu - Džiugas Telšiai vs Dainava (1 July 2023)
- Jurgis Jankauskas - Džiugas Telšiai vs Sūduva (29 July 2023)
Yevhen Smirnov - Džiugas Telšiai vs Sūduva (29 July 2023)
Francisco La Mantía - Riteriai vs Banga Gargždai (5 August 2023)- Denis Bošnjak - Panevėžys vs Hegelmann (7 August 2023)
- Nikola Popović - Riteriai vs Sūduva (18 August 2023)
- Denis Bošnjak - Hegelmann vs Kauno Žalgiris (20 August 2023)
- Francisco La Mantía - Riteriai vs FA Šiauliai (25 August 2023)
Davor Rakić - Dainava vs Riteriai (22 September 2023)- Dominykas Kubilinskas - Džiugas Telšiai vs Banga Gargždai (22 September 2023)
Yury Kendysh - Žalgiris vs Kauno Žalgiris (24 September 2023)- Karolis Šilkaitis - Žalgiris vs Kauno Žalgiris (24 September 2023)
Nicolás Gorobsov - Žalgiris vs Kauno Žalgiris (24 September 2023)
Hugo Figueiredo - Kauno Žalgiris vs Hegelmann (29 October 2023)- Sigitas Urbys - Džiugas Telšiai vs FA Šiauliai (4 November 2023)
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